"Free Migration" Means Something Different at Every Host
We checked 10 hosts' migration pages, help docs, and fine print. Three are genuinely unlimited and free. One host's own page contradicts itself on price. Here's the real caveat list.
Written by Tom George · How we research hosts
Why "Free Migration" Needs a Closer Look
Nearly every hosting company advertises free migration somewhere on its pricing or features page. It's a low-cost way to remove the biggest reason people hesitate to switch hosts — the fear of a broken site mid-move.
But "free migration" turns out to mean very different things depending on the host: unlimited sites vs. one site, done-for-you vs. a plugin you run yourself, available anytime vs. only during signup, and in one case, a page that can't even agree with itself on whether the service is free or paid.
We read the actual migration pages, help-center articles, and pricing fine print for 10 hosts to find out which claims hold up.
Free Migration, Host by Host
| Host | Free? | Sites Included | Key Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinsta Visit Kinsta → |
Yes | No site cap stated | E-commerce sites need maintenance mode during the move |
| Rocket.net | Yes | Unlimited | None found — the cleanest offer we checked |
| Pressable Visit Pressable → |
Yes | Unlimited | None found |
| Hostinger Visit Hostinger → |
Yes | As many as your plan holds | Doesn't cover moves between your own Hostinger accounts/plans |
| Cloudways Visit Cloudways → |
Partial | 1 managed / unlimited via plugin | Done-for-you tier is 1 site only; DIY plugin is unlimited |
| SiteGround Visit SiteGround → |
Partial | Multiple sites via the free plugin | SiteGround's pages disagree on whether the expert-done transfer is free |
| WP Engine Visit WP Engine → |
Partial | Unlimited (agency only) / DIY otherwise | Managed tier needs a new agency account + 12-month contract |
| InMotion Hosting Visit InMotion Hosting → |
Partial | 1 cPanel/WordPress backup per transfer | Only on select plans, mainly via onboarding |
| Bluehost Visit Bluehost → |
Highly conditional | Up to 5 cPanel accounts / 10GB each | Needs a 12-month VPS/Dedicated term + upgrade-from-shared; overage is $199/account |
| GoDaddy | Unclear | Not specified | Page's own table says free; its meta description calls it a paid service |
The Three Clean Offers: Kinsta, Rocket.net, Pressable
These three came out the cleanest in our research — no site-count cap stated, no separate paid tier for a done-for-you migration, and no contract requirement tied to the offer.
Kinsta's only real condition is that e-commerce and membership sites go into maintenance mode during the move, which is a sensible safeguard against losing live orders mid-migration, not a hidden catch. (The migration itself stops short of DNS, email and third-party setup; see what Kinsta's free migration does not move.) Rocket.net markets itself as accepting "1 or 1,000 websites" with no site cap, and nothing in our research contradicted that. Pressable's white-glove migration service is available 24/7 with no site-count limit we could find.
The "Free, But Split in Two" Group
Cloudways: One Free Managed Move, Unlimited DIY
Cloudways gives every account one free managed migration, done by their team. Beyond that first site, migrations are still free — but only through the self-service WordPress Migrator plugin, which also supports Drupal, Joomla, and Magento.
SiteGround: Free Plugin, Expert Service Terms Vary by Page
SiteGround's free Migrator plugin moves multiple WordPress sites to SiteGround at no extra cost, but it is not suitable for localhost or full Multisite installs. If you want SiteGround's own team to do the move instead, SiteGround's pages do not agree on the terms (checked 2026-10-25): the plans-page FAQ says "your first migration is free," a SiteGround blog post says the professional migration is free for the first migration on GrowBig and GoGeek, and the help article on manual transfers calls it a paid service. Ask SiteGround in chat which applies to your plan before you order.
WP Engine: Free for Agencies, DIY for Everyone Else
WP Engine's fully-managed free migration is explicitly for new agency customers on qualifying plans (WP Engine's migration page says "Core WordPress plans"; its plans page now calls the $400 tier Business) with a 12-month contract. Individual site owners get a self-service migration plugin instead — free, but you're doing the work.
InMotion Hosting: Plan-Gated, One Backup at a Time
InMotion's free WordPress transfer is available on select plans and mainly through its Launch Assist onboarding flow, not as a standing offer across every plan. The scope is explicitly one cPanel or WordPress backup per transfer.
The Most Caveated Offer: Bluehost
Bluehost's free "courtesy migration" comes with more conditions than any other host we checked. It requires committing to at least a 12-month VPS or Dedicated hosting term, and only applies if you're purchasing or upgrading from shared hosting — switching between plans within the same category, including downgrades, doesn't qualify.
External migrations to Bluehost are capped at 5 cPanel accounts and 10GB of data per account. Go over that, and it's $199 per additional cPanel account. Email migration — Google Workspace, Office 365, or standard webmail — is a completely separate paid product at $99 per mailbox, not included in the website migration offer at all.
None of this makes Bluehost's migration service unusable — it just means "free migration" here comes with a genuine checklist to work through before assuming it applies to your situation.
GoDaddy: A Page That Contradicts Itself
GoDaddy's dedicated Website Migration service page presents a real problem: the comparison table on the page itself lists the service's cost as "Free of charge." But the same page's meta description — the text GoDaddy wrote for its own search and social previews — calls it "this paid-for service."
Two other free options exist on GoDaddy (an automated WordPress migration tool and a cPanel Installatron import), but both are described as part of the initial account setup and onboarding process, not something you can request anytime later.
Rather than guess which description is accurate, we're flagging GoDaddy's Website Migration service specifically as unverified. If you're moving to GoDaddy and the migration cost matters, confirm directly with their sales or support team before assuming either page is correct.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which hosts offer truly unlimited free migration with no site limit?
Of the 10 hosts we checked, Rocket.net and Pressable state unlimited free migrations, and Kinsta's free basic migration states no site-count cap either, with no separate paid tier for larger moves. Hostinger is close behind — as many sites as your plan holds, but only for moving in from another host, not between its own accounts or plans.
Is a "free migration" ever actually free with no limits?
Sometimes, but read the fine print. Several hosts split "free" into two tiers: a free self-service plugin, and a done-for-you managed migration that's capped at one site or requires a contract commitment. Cloudways and SiteGround both work this way — a free DIY plugin, and a limited or paid white-glove version (SiteGround's own pages disagree on whether its expert transfer is free).
Which host has the most restrictive free migration policy?
Bluehost, by a wide margin. Its free "courtesy migration" requires committing to a 12-month VPS or Dedicated term and only applies when upgrading from shared hosting — switching between plans in the same category doesn't qualify. External migrations are capped at 5 cPanel accounts and 10GB per account; anything beyond that costs $199 per account, and email migration is a separate $99-per-mailbox product.
Do free migrations work for e-commerce and WooCommerce sites?
Usually yes, but with an extra step. Kinsta explicitly requires e-commerce, membership, and community sites to go into maintenance mode during the migration, since their data changes continuously and a mid-migration order or update could get lost. Expect the same requirement, stated or not, from most hosts moving a live store.
Why does the article list GoDaddy's migration cost as "unclear"?
Because GoDaddy's own help page contradicts itself. The comparison table on the page lists the Website Migration service's cost as "Free of charge," but the same page's meta description — the text GoDaddy itself wrote for search and social previews — calls it "this paid-for service." Rather than guess which is right, we're flagging it as unverified until it can be confirmed directly with GoDaddy support.
The Bottom Line
If a free migration is part of why you're choosing a host, don't stop at the headline. Check three things: is it unlimited or one-site, is it done for you or DIY, and is there a contract or plan requirement attached. Kinsta, Rocket.net, and Pressable answer all three cleanly. Most others don't — and Bluehost and GoDaddy are worth a direct confirmation before you rely on either page.
Planning a specific move? Our step-by-step guides cover the most common paths.
Before you move, make sure you have a copy: how to back up a WordPress site (3 methods ranked).